The Le Riche’s brand could disappear from the Channel Islands by next Christmas as the islands’ largest food retailer embarks on a radical refurbishment programme to rebrand the bulk of its estate to the Checkers or Checkers Xpress formats within 12 months.

Nisa member Le Riche, which merged with local brewer and leisure group Ann Street last summer to create CI Traders, owns more than 40 stores on the islands, trading as Le Riche’s, Stampers, Wine Warehouse, Island Shopper, Checkers and Checkers Xpress.

Just two stores currently trade as Checkers, but the success of the new Checkers Xpress convenience format piloted in St Aubin, Jersey, has convinced bosses that the brand is strong enough for a rollout said Le Riche MD Andrew Bagot.

The 3,000 sq ft store at St Aubin, converted from a Stampers c-store in July, includes a post office, hot food to go, CDs and DVDs, freshly baked bread and a significantly enhanced fresh and chilled offer, said Bagot. “At the peak of summer it was doing £60,000 a week.” The frozen range has halved, while refrigeration has doubled.

A second store under the new format has opened in Guernsey after a £200,000 refit of an Island Shopper c-store.

In a separate development, the company has also announced plans to axe its stamp loyalty scheme and to replace it with a swipe card, which will be more modern and convenient for customers while giving Le Riche access to data about its customers’ spending habits, said Bagot.

Customers earn 5p for every pound spent, which will be distributed in the form of vouchers to spend instore or air miles on a quarterly basis.

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